Page 34 of Off Limits
“Jane.” Patrick’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
She turned to see him crossing the sand, barefoot in brown linen pants and nothing else. The moonlight cast a silver sheen across his toned chest and shoulders. Though the calendar still claimed winter, the balmy air near the equator felt like summer.
“Hey.” She scooted over on the blanket to make room for him.
“I was packing up and saw you out here alone.” He lowered into a seat next to her, his toes sinking into the sand.
“I was just processing the last three weeks,” she murmured.And the rest of my life.But she didn’t need to admit that out loud.
He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the moon. “How’s that going?”
She gave a soft laugh. “It’s ... going. You know this retreat fell at exactly the right time for me.”
He shifted his gaze to her. “I know you mentioned that before but you never said why. Do you want to share?”
Patrick put her at ease and didn’t pressure her into anything. He listened without judgment, at least, thus far. She really hadn’t had anyone to talk to about her relationship with Brady. Taylor knew but she hadn’t wanted to put him in a more complicated situation than he already was just knowing their secret. And her few girlfriends would have given away her secret with their eyes every time Brady walked into a room. Kerri and Giselle would lose their life savings at poker, if they played. Maybe Patrick would be a good sounding board.
“I’m in love with someone back home but it’s complicated and was a tangled mess before I left.”
“Is he married?”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t even thought her words would give him that idea. But she could see it now. “No.” She shook her head. “I’d never do that. He’s my brother’s best friend.”
“Ah. The ol’ brother’s best friend scenario.” He chuckled, shifting in the sand.
“I didn’t realize that was actually a thing outside of romance novels and my own life.” She grimaced.
“Romance novels,Lifetimemovies, and apparently your love life.”
She swatted his arm with a laugh. “Gee, thanks. I’m a cliché.”
“Tell me about it.”
She exhaled, then poured her heart out about everything. Her years-long crush. Their unabashed flirting that blurred the lines. Her mastermind plan to seduce him on New Year’s Eve. The scorching sex. Brady’s maddening indecision. His promise to Rex. Her breaking point.
“Wow.” He fell back on the blanket.
“I know, right?” She leaned back on her elbows and stared up at the starry sky.
“What is it you want, Jane?” He rolled to his side and faced her.
“That’s an easy question for me.” She smiled. “But what I want and what he’s willing to give me are not the same.”
“You said he came from an abusive home and sees your brother like family—like the only real one he’s ever had. When someone with that kind of past forms a bond, they don’t take it lightly. They’ll protect it with everything they have.”
“You sound like Brady.”
“My history isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I get why he’d want to protect what he has with your brother. Do you think Rex will be pissed?”
“Yes. At first.” She released a heavy sigh. “He’s always played the overprotective big brother card.”
“But wouldn’t he want his best friend and sister to be happy?”
“Of course. But I’m his baby sister and, well, Brady has a bit of a reputation.”
“Oh, so he was a player? And Rex doesn’t think he will do right by you?”
“Bingo.” She pointed at him. “It’s more that Rex thinks he’s incapable of commitment.”
